


Bright Beginnings

by Lilsciencequeen



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Adorable FitzSimmons (Agents of SHIELD), Alternate Universe - Teachers, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending, Single Parent Jemma, Single Parents, Teacher Fitz, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-01-22 14:35:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12483868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilsciencequeen/pseuds/Lilsciencequeen
Summary: When Jemma Simmons moves to the area, and enrols her daughter into the local school, the second last thing she expects is to fall for her teacher.The last thing she expects is for the feelings to be reciprocated.A FitzSimmons Parent/Teacher AU





	1. September

“Where’s my mummy?” Peggy asked, her voice low and full of sorrow as she scribbled back and forth on yet another page, not so much drawing as passing the time. Her eyes weren’t even focused on her artwork, nothing more than a red scribble. They were far off, her mind occupied with something else.

The words that left her mouth caused Fitz to freeze, in the middle of bending down to pick up a toy dinosaur that had been left haphazardly in the middle of the floor. He remained silent for a moment, trying to think of a perfect response to his. Peggy was the last one left at the nursery, everyone else having gone home earlier that afternoon. Her mum had phoned earlier that day to let him know that she was running late, that she wouldn’t be able to pick her daughter up at home time, and would it be possible that her daughter stay behind at the after school club. He had told her yes, and that he would still be there whenever she was able to get to the school.

She had phoned only ten minutes ago now, letting him know that she had finally left the lab and was on her way to the school, her tone less frantic than it had been only hours earlier.

Fitz rose before straightening, and turned to face the girl, smiling at her, the dinosaur now abandoned on the floor, the claws of the T-Rex up in the air, somewhat pathetically. “She’s on her way now, she was stuck in work.”

The young girl heaved a heavy sigh and went back to her artwork, soft brown curls falling around her face as she dipped her head to focus on the never ending circles that she was drawing.

“Do you miss her?” Fitz asked, still flitting around the room and tidying, picking up the odd pencil, a scarp of paper, anything to keep himself busy. He wasn’t really sure what to say at this point, he knew that the girl in the classroom, despite only being five years old, was somewhat smarter than everyone else in the class, having obviously inherited her brains for her mother. That she preferred having deep meaningful conversations, or as deep and as meaningful as someone her age could.

“It’s supposed to be pizza night.”

The reply from the girl was not one that he was expecting, and he couldn’t help but laugh at this. It was such a simple thing but something so funny at the same time. That she was missing pizza night more than she was missing her mum. “Do you have pizza every Thursday?”

Peggy nodded. “We always go out with Daisy. It’s my favourite night. And sometimes we go to the cinema!”

His eyes widened with surprise, the girl’s mood seemingly picking up at the conversation. “You do?”

Peggy nodded, having dropped her crayon and was now staring up at her teacher. “Last week we saw the _Lego Film_.”

“Wow, did you enjoy it?” It was at this point that Fitz slid into a chair, and sat opposite Peggy, the desk the only thing separating them.

She nodded again, her hair bouncing everywhere, a butterfly clip sliding further down her hair so it was now hanging close to her cheek. “It was amazing! Daisy bought me a large popcorn!”

Fitz was going to reply to this when the door opened suddenly, the sound alerting the two of them to the fact that someone was now there. The both of them turned to see who was there, and Peggy’s face split into a massive smile when she saw that it was her mum standing in the doorway.

“Mummy!” she called out, jumping up out of her seat, the plastic thing falling to the ground and bouncing softly on the carpet. She ran across the room, and into her mother’s outstretched arms, Jemma having crouched to embrace her daughter.

“Hey sweetie,” Jemma whispered, wrapping her arms around her daughter and holding her close. “I’m so sorry I’m late.”

“It’s okay,” Peggy replied, her voice muffled by her mum’s jumper. “I just missed you.”

Jemma pressed a kiss to her daughter’s head, and whispered something else, words that were lost to Fitz. He had removed himself from the too small seat, and had started his tidying once again, trying to finish it but not really making much effort. In fact, there wasn’t much that even needed tidying. He just didn’t want to intrude on this moment. He knew how much Jemma meant to Peggy. The girl didn’t have that many friends in class, she was still relatively new to it, the two of them having just moved to the area. Her mum was the most important person to her in the whole world. Going home to her mum was her favourite time of each day.

And he also knew how much Peggy meant to Jemma. A single mum who had just moved into the neighbourhood just over three months ago now, after having been relocated to the S.H.I.E.L.D. lab there. He could tell just by her actions, by just how much she cared about her daughter, that she was the person that Jemma loved the most, the single most important person in her universe and she would do anything to ensure her happiness, to make sure that she was okay.

Jemma had even asked him to keep an eye out for her, that she didn’t want her daughter alone, that she didn’t want her to have no friends. There had been something in Jemma’s tone, a sadness that, if she were feeling what Fitz though she was feeling, was one that he all too well. But he didn’t press the issue, knowing that it would have been inappropriate. It wasn’t his place to ask about Jemma’s personal and private life.

The woman in question had now stood up, and was fixing her hair, her ponytail having come undone. Peggy had managed to detach herself from her mum and was pottering across the room, grabbing her bag from its hook on the back wall.

“I wanted to thank you,” Jemma said, breaking the silence that had formed in the room. The words were sudden, spooking Fitz so much that he dropped the dinosaur that he had only just got around to picking up. It fell to the ground once again, and he used the time that it took to bend down and pick it up (again) to compose himself.

“For what?” he asked, turning to face the woman again, smiling.

She laughed at his question, a soft gentle laugh. “For staying all this extra time to take care of her. I’m just…” she shook her head, as if she were annoyed about her day and everything that had happened in it. “We got some new lab techs in, and they’re just… let’s just say they aren’t allowed near the beakers again until they learn how proper lab safety etiquette.” She rolled her eyes at the statement, bending down once again to help Peggy into her coat, the young girl back with her mum once more. “I would have gotten Daisy, Peggy’s… aunt, to pick her up but she’s got the flu, can’t leave the house.”

“Does that mean no pizza night?” Peggy interrupted, not being very co-operative whilst Jemma tried to get her arm into her sleeve. Her voice was full of disappointment, her eyes wide and tears threatening to spill.

“We can still go,” Jemma whispered, using her jumper sleeve to wipe away at the first tears that streaked down Peggy’s face. “Just me and you? We can get a brownie sundae after?”

Peggy nodded, now in her coat, zipping it up herself as Jemma lifted Peggy’s bag and then Peggy herself, holding her daughter close. Peggy wrapped her arms around her mum’s neck, snuggling in close when she seemed to suddenly have an idea. “Can Fitz come?”

Everyone in the room froze at the three words, at the question that the young girl had just asked. It was Jemma who recovered first from it though. “He can’t sweetie,” Jemma told her, gently brushing a loose strand of her hair back. “We don’t know him.”

“But we do!” Peggy tried to protest. “He’s my teacher! And Daisy says you like him! You fancy him!”

A sudden blush crept across both Fitz’s face and Jemma’s at Peggy’s words and it took a moment longer for Jemma to recover this time. “I don’t… I…”

Fitz just laughed, a somewhat nervous laugh but a laugh altogether. “It’s fine,” he tried to reassure her, ignoring the fluttering in his stomach. “Kids say stuff like that all the time. I’ve heard worse, trust me.” He gave a nod, trying to reassure her that it was, in fact, okay. “I better let you leave, don’t want to keep you from pizza night any longer.” Using the hand that wasn’t holding the dinosaur, he rubbed nervously at the back of his neck, the situation, despite how much he was trying not to show it, had freaked him out and words were failing him.

“Right,” Jemma said, her voice curt, as if she were just holding it together. “Let’s go you little monkey. Fitz is right, we don’t want to miss pizza night. Tell him thank you and you’ll see him tomorrow.”

“Bye Peggy, see in class for science tomorrow?”

She nodded, waving over her mum’s shoulder as Jemma carried her out of the classroom, at a slightly faster pace than normal, silently cursing Daisy in her head for passing on that information. She was supposed to know that Peggy was a horrible liar, and that she couldn’t keep secrets. And anyway, why would she tell Peggy that her mum fancied her teacher. That was just… it was just so odd.

What Jemma didn’t notice was Fitz chewing somewhat nervously on his lip as she left, his mind racing a million miles per hour, wondering if what Peggy had said had in fact been true, and not just another thing a five year old would say.   


	2. October

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say a massive thank you for all the support on the first chapter, I'm so glad that you enjoyed it.

It had now been a little over two weeks since what Jemma and Fitz had both come to know as ‘The Incident’. And thankfully, nothing had happened since. There were no more words from Peggy about crushes and dates, something which both adults were more than pleased about.

Jemma had explained to Peggy over dinner the night that it had happened that she couldn’t go about sharing personal and private information like that, and asked how did she come to know it to begin with. Even though she knew that answer.

That it was Daisy who had told her.

Of course, it had been Daisy, there was no one else who it could have been.

Jemma had phoned the other woman as soon as she had recovered from the flu, somewhat frantic, demanding to know why she had told Peggy such personal, private information, especially after she had explicitly told her friend, the woman who was like an aunt to Peggy, not to pass it on. That it was a secret that was to be kept between the two of them. Something that was to have gone to the grave.

Daisy had just given a soft laugh, saying that if Jemma wasn’t going to do anything about it, then she and Peggy had to. That it had been years now since that she had last dated. What she never mentioned, what she couldn’t mention was that it had been years since Will had left for work one day when she was pregnant, and hadn’t returned home that day. Only coming by the next day to pick up what belonged to him, leaving nothing but a note. Jemma hadn’t been in at that point, and she had been devastated when she got home to see that Will had really left her. She had cared for Will, she truly had loved him, and for him to walk out on her like that… Daisy wasn’t ever sure that Jemma had ever gotten over what had happened, that she had ever recovered from such a deep betrayal of trust, from such a heartbreak.

She had been there to pick up the pieces, helping Jemma through the last number of months during her pregnancy, even staying with Jemma in her apartment the first few months, helping her friend as she adjusted to motherhood. 

She had been there when Jemma had changed, no longer as easy going and trusting as she had been. She had put up barriers, not wanting anyone or anything to hurt her again, like it had before. She was protective of Peggy, even more so than Daisy had been expecting her to be. She never let the girl leave her sight if she could, even going so as far to get extended time off work.

And then she had left the country, had moved back to England for a number of years. Daisy had been heartbroken to see her friend leave, but she knew that it was for the best. That some time away from here, it would be the best for both mother and daughter.

She had gone to Sheffield, back home.

They had kept in touch, of course they had. Daisy even going over to England every year for Peggy’s birthday, not wanting to miss it.

Things seemed normal enough, Jemma seemed happy, more than happy with her daughter, with her family and then she had gotten the job offer, just over a number of months ago now. S.H.I.E.L.D. offering her a job, wanting her help on a project, and then they would allow her to work on whatever she wanted. But it was back here, back in the town that Jemma had come to associate with so much pain and heartbreak.

It had gotten to the point where Jemma was unsure if she wanted to come back or not, but that had all changed after a pep talk from Daisy. She had told her friend that she shouldn’t allow someone like her ex to hold her back, to stop her from advancing in her career. That she had wanted to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. for so long now and she shouldn’t let anyone stop her from doing this.

And in the end, that had seemed to help her. She had moved back, taking the job and sending Peggy to Bright Beginnings, the school just around the corner. It was there she had met Fitz, there she had fallen from him over the weeks.

Jemma had confided that information in her, in a panic. It had been so long now since she had even though about dating, and with all the thoughts suddenly rushing back, it had been slightly overwhelming for her. She said that she didn’t have the time to date, not at the moment. She had a job, she had a kid to look after, and anyway. She shouldn’t be falling for her kid’s teacher. It was just wrong.

But now, now Fitz knew her thoughts.

And she didn’t know what that would hold for her, for Jemma. For anyone.

***

When Peggy had pretty much asked if he could come to dinner that night, Fitz had wanted nothing more than for the ground to swallow him whole and to disappear to a whole new universe.

Of course, hearing that his student’s parents fancied him… it was nothing new. There was usually one each year, the secret inevitably being let slip by some student or another (except for Ophelia the other year, someone who he still shivered at the thought of) but _having_ feelings for the parent… that was something he had never experienced before. Something that had never happened.

He knew that it was wrong. That it was so very wrong.

He shouldn’t be developing feelings for one of the parents of his students. Even one exactly like Jemma Simmons. He knew who she was. Everyone knew who she was in the area. She was one of the most well-known biochemists in the country, in the world even. He had read more than a few of her journals, even know bio-chemistry had never been his chosen subject, there was just something so enlightening about her reads, something about them that kept him reading. He couldn’t put them down.

He had told Hunter his dilemma, about him having feelings for her, and the feelings being reciprocated.  He didn’t know what to do, he didn’t want to do something stupid, lose his job and one night, Hunter had sat him down, having got a whole bunch of legal documents, codes of conduct, and the two of them had sat and read through them all, and after hours and hours, multiple sticky notes, a whole bunch of pens and half a dozen highlighters, they were able to come to the conclusion that there was nothing against a teacher dating the parent of one of his students, that it was possible for Fitz to ask Jemma out on a date if he wanted too.

“What’s the worst that can happen?” Hunter asked him, passing him a bottle of beer and leaning back in his chair. “She rejects you?”

“I’ll have to see her every day for the rest of the year,” Fitz replied, bring the bottle to his lips and taking a drink. He swallowed hard, the liquid running down his throat, ice cold. He did want to ask her out, he really did. But just… he didn’t know how he would go about it.

Hunter snorted. “Listen, if you survived Ophelia, you can survive being rejected by Jemma Simmons.” He took a drink, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “You see her tomorrow?”

A nod from the teacher, who had set down the glass now and was rubbing at his face with his right hand. “Yeah, tomorrow morning. And afternoon.”

“Then do it,” Hunter encouraged. “You never know what she’s going to say.”

***

“Jemma, can I… Jemma can I talk to you…”

The words left his mouth before he could even stop them and Jemma paused in the corridor, and it was when her shoulders tensed that he regretted saying his words. He didn’t even know why she was single in the first place, why it was just her and Peggy. Maybe her relationship with Peggy’s father hadn’t been the best. Maybe he had died. Maybe…

“Fitz?” she asked, the word knocking him out of his thoughts. He saw that she had turned around to face him, confusion laced on her face. Peggy had run on to the doors of the building, and was waiting there, just out of ear shot of the two adults, as she seemed to be in a word of her own. “Is everything okay? Is it Peggy? Is everything okay with her?”

He cursed himself for not being able to find the words that he wanted, cursed the fact they were currently stuck in his throat, and he was causing Jemma to worry that something was wrong with her daughter. “Peggy?” he eventually managed to stutter out. “Nothing, nothing is wrong with her. She’s fine. She’s perfectly fine Jemma. She’s made a friend, Thomas Davis. I think his dad…”

“Zach?” Jemma asked. “Yeah I know Zach. And Mindy. They’ve been such a great help. Peggy’s actually staying over with them this weekend I think.” A laugh from Jemma, soft and gentle and lighting up the entire room. “She hasn’t stopped talking about it all week. He’s her first… he’s her first friend. I just… I want it to go well for her.”

“Hey,” Fitz said, taking a step forward and wanting nothing more than to reassure Jemma that it would be okay, that it would all be okay. “It will. If those two are anything like they are in here, Zach and Mindy could probably pay for the damages by setting up an art gallery in their front room.”

Jemma gave a nervous laugh at this, dipping her head as if she were embarrassed, and she reached up, brushing a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. Then she looked up at him again. “You wanted to speak to me about something.”

For a moment, Fitz looked confused, as if he had forgotten about this as well. And then he remembered, the clarity spreading across his face. “What, oh yeah, yeah. I wanted to ask… I wanted…” He stumbled over his words, then paused for a moment, trying to find them again and then suddenly… “Dinner!”

Jemma frowned staring in surprise at him, wondering what he was hinting at. Was this some form of joke? Was he only doing this to have a bit of fun? But then… he knew that she had feelings for him but she never knew that he actually believed Peggy’s words. That he had feelings for her also. “You’re asking me out?” She asked, frowning, trying to work out his motives.

He nodded, scratching at his earlobe. “Yeah, yeah but only if you want to.”

“I don’t,” Jemma began, not really knowing if she was ready for dating, not yet anyway.

“Can I give you my number?” he asked. “You don’t… you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I don’t want to upset you.”

Jemma nodded, knowing that she should. She accepted the piece of paper that he was passing her and saw that it was a sticky note in the shape of a spaceship. She raised an eyebrow.

“What?” he asked. “Spaceships are awesome.”

***

“He asked you out?” Daisy asked as Jemma curled up on the chair, her legs under her, and she thanked Daisy as she was passed a glass of wine.

Jemma nodded. “He did. He gave me his number too.”

Daisy feigned shock. “Jemma Simmons! And did you say yes?”

And it was at this point, Jemma’s smile dropped. “I didn’t…”

“Jemma,” Daisy said, her voice no longer one of humour but one of warmth and comfort, and she reached over, allowing her hand to rest on Jemma’s knee. The biochemist looked down at it, but didn’t speak. “It’s okay, if you want to. I know you’re worried about Peggy, but she wants you to be happy.”

“I am…”

“You know what I mean. And anyway, it’s not like she doesn’t know Fitz. She loves him. Hell, I think that she’s the only person who gushes about him as much as you do. Do you like him Jemma?”

A pause, and then a slow nod. “I do”

“And do you want to go out with him?”

“I do.”

Daisy’s lips curved up into a smile. “I’d give it a go if I were you. And if he breaks his heart, you know I’ll kick his ass for you. Just… just call him Jemma, you never know where this could go for you.” She rose, giving her friend’s knee a squeeze as she walked past. “I’m just going to go to the bathroom.”

And then she was gone, leaving Jemma alone in the room with a glass of wine and her phone, the blank screen staring up at her and before she could think better of it, she reached for it, and dialled Fitz’s number.

“Hi, Fitz?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I mention the chapter count went up?
> 
> Also, anyone interested in anything Davis related, just read anything with them by stjarna. Just... just do it.


	3. November

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for taking so long to update this one, I've had a rough couple of weeks and anything I wrote for this one I wasn't happy with but I am planning on finishing it over the next couple of weeks while I'm off for Christmas.
> 
> Shoutout to delicatelyglitterywriter for helping to inspire part of this chapter.

It was a week later that Jemma was getting ready for her first date with Fitz, and she did so, her daughter sat cross-legged on the bed, eating ice cream out of a bowl, the chocolate dribbling down her chin and dripping on to the sheets.

“Are you going to get dessert?” Peggy asked, beaming at her mother with a mouth full of food. Jemma spun to face her. She just rolled her eyes upon seeing her daughter and just sighed, reaching forward and wiping some melted ice cream of her daughter’s chin. “Fitz loves dessert.”

“He does?” Jemma asked, now reaching for a wipe and cleaning her hands, not wanting her hands to be sticky, before balling it up and throwing it in the bin.

“He loves it! He loves chocolate and sweets and pretzels and sugar! He always brings in the best food for Film Fridays!”

“Oh wow!” Jemma exclaimed, reaching for her shoes and sitting down to slide them on. “I wonder if he likes cheesecake.”

“He should try your one! The Malteser one!”

Jemma smiled at her daughter, wondering what she had done to deserve her daughter. How she could have someone so perfect in her life. “Maybe one day. Now, what are you and Daisy going to do all evening?”

“We’re going to watch Disney movies! She says we can watch Mulan and Lilo and Stitch and Snow White and we can have lots of ice cream!”

“That sounds amazing, now how about we go get you into your pyjamas and make sure you’re ready for Daisy?”

Her daughter agreed, passing her mum the bowl of ice cream, all but melted before running off to get ready for Daisy, and it was half an hour later that Daisy came over carrying the bag of Chinese food that she had promised. Peggy was more than happy about it, and was already running into the kitchen with it when there was a knock on the door.

Jemma and Daisy shared a glance.

“Fitz?” Daisy asked, and Jemma nodded. A reassuring smile was offered. “It’ll be okay,” Daisy told her, squeezing her friend’s shoulder, feeling how tense Jemma was. This was her first date since Will had left her, since she had had Peggy and saying that she was nervous would be an understatement. “Peggy seems to love him, and from what I’ve heard from you, he seems to be a nice guy.  It’s gonna be fine. And if not, I’ll break his nose.”

Jemma nodded, taking a breath and trying to relax. “I know, I just don’t know how to act. It’s been years since I’ve had a relationship. Years since I have had a date.” She gave a nervous laugh. “I don’t know what to do!”

Daisy rolled her eyes, mimicking what her friend always did. “Just be yourself, there’s no use being fake. Show him the real you, the real Jemma Anne Simmons. He’ll like you, I promise.”

Jemma nodded, and took another breath before turning to reach for the door. Pulling it open, she saw Fitz standing there, and she almost did a double take when she saw him standing there, wearing a suit.

“Hi,” she whispered, taking a few moment to find her voice. “You look, you look amazing.”

He smiled at her. “Thanks… thanks,” he managed to stutter out. “You look… you look magnificent.”

Jemma felt a blush creep across her cheeks. “I have to say, I have to say goodbye to Peggy first.”

Fitz nodded, reaching up and scratching at the back of his head. “Sure, sure of course. I’ll wait… I’ll wait here.”

“Thank you,” Jemma whispered, the edges of her lips flicking up. “Oh! This is… this is Daisy.”

The woman extended her hand to Fitz. “It’s really great to meet you. I don’t know who talks about you more; Jemma or Peggy.” Fitz accepted her hand, seemingly not as embarrassed as Jemma was. She then turned to face Jemma. “You go say bye to your daughter, and then go have some fun. You deserve it.”

A nod from Jemma, and she headed into the kitchen, and found that Peggy was attempting to sort out the food, and she was only seconds away from causing a disaster. “Hey,” Jemma whispered, reaching for the box that her daughter was holding, taking it from her and setting it down. “You’re going to be okay, aren’t you?”

Peggy nodded up at her mum from her stool, the thing wobbling slightly. “I am. Will you be home soon?”

“Of course,” Jemma reassured her, leaning down and placing a kiss on her head. “I’ll be home soon.”

***

The restaurant was half empty when they arrived, and Fitz pulled out her seat for her, something that made Jemma’s heart flutter in her chest.  She hadn’t had someone do this for her in so many years now, to treat her so well that it was odd.

It was nice.

But it was odd.

“So,” Fitz asked, peaking over the top of his menu. “What are you going to have?”

Jemma allowed her eyes to scan the menu, taking everything in. She hadn’t been to this place before, she had never had a chance (there was nothing on the menu that Peggy would have liked), and she had always thought that it was out of her budget. “I have no idea,” she told him. He knew that she had never been. “I did have a look at the menu earlier today, but I honestly can’t decide.” She looked up at him. “What about you?”

“The pasta alfredo.” The way he said it made her think that he always had that, and if he had to pick one thing, then it was that and if there was one thing that he recommended here, it was that. “It’s the best in the area.”

“Well,” Jemma began, setting down the menu and reaching for the glass of wine to her left. “I’ll have that as well.”

And as the date went on, the two of them making conversation, sharing laughs and making memories, Jemma felt the worries and the anxieties in her stomach subside. Being with Fitz, it had been so different from every other date she had ever been on. This one seemed so natural, so easy, as if it weren’t actually a date at all but two friends sharing a meal.

And she liked it. It was nice to be able to just relax, to have some time to herself, to be able to talk science to someone who actually knew what she was talking about. And by the time that dessert came, Jemma found that in fact, she didn’t want the night to end.

“This is good cheesecake,” she said through a mouthful of the thing. “Not as good as mine. But it’s pretty good.”

Fitz just shook his head at her statement, laughing. “I won’t tell Hunter that if you make me one.”

Jemma swallowed hard. “You know the chef?”

“Yeah, we were friends in college. He helps run the place actually.”

“Oh,” Jemma’s eyes widened. “You have to tell him that I loved the food.”

“If you think this is good, you have to try his lasagne. They took it off the menu here about a year ago, but if you ever want, you and Peggy can come round one night, Daisy too if you want and we can have it.”

“I would love that.” She smiled at him, setting her fork down, leaning back, feeling like she would explode if she tied to eat any more. “Peggy loves lasagne. It’s her favourite, she’s always asking me to make it…”

“You want to go home and see her?”

Jemma chewed nervously on her lip, because she had never really left Peggy in a situation like this, and she almost felt bad for leaving her. She had tried to ignore the feeling, but all she wanted to do was go home and see her daughter. “If that’s okay, I just… I really did enjoy tonight but I’ve… I’ve never…”

Fitz shook his head, not like he was angry but like he _understood_. “It’s okay, you don’t need to explain yourself. I’ll get the bill if you want to go to the bathroom.”

“Thank you.”

***

Over the next few weeks, as October turned into November, the two of them shared a couple more of dates, going out for dinner, or going to the cinema. Nothing major, and Jemma always returned home afterwards.

Peggy seemed more than happy with the two of them dating, something that had worried Jemma. She didn’t want her daughter to get upset that there was someone new in their lives, even if it was her teacher. She liked all the extra time she got to spend with Daisy, the two of them getting up to plenty of mischief (thankfully, Daisy always tidied up after the two of them, knowing that Jemma wasn’t overly fond of an untidy apartment).

Things were going well for Jemma, and her daughter. It was still odd to be dating once again, especially her daughter’s teacher, but never once did he push her to do anything that she didn’t want to do. He respected her limits, and always made sure that she was happy, no matter what they were doing.

So a phone call on Saturday afternoon, Peggy half asleep on her when they were watching cartoons, from Fitz was not something out of the blue.

“Hi Fitz,” she greeted, her tone brightening when she heard her voice, her lips curving up. “Is everything okay.” 

 “Yeah, kinda,” he replied. He sounded stressed, agitated. “I need to ask you a massive favour.”

“Of course, what’s wrong?” A twisting feeling occurred in her stomach as her mind flashed through all the possible things that could be happening to him.

“I know Wednesday is your day off, but Clara’s mum is ill, can’t help to supervise on the trip to the aquarium and I need all the health and safety forms done by tonight…”

“Of course I’ll help Fitz.”

She heard his sigh of relief come down the line. “Thank you so much, I honestly can’t thank you enough for this.”

So that was how Jemma Simmons ended up on a semi-date at the aquarium at Wednesday, her and Fitz explaining all the creatures of the sea to the class, the two of them speaking in sync in somewhat over exaggerated voices. It was completely different to anything she had ever experienced but it was amazing, and as they let the class go to the playpark before heading home, she found her fingers interlacing with his.

***

“Honestly Fitz,” she told him for what must have been the twentieth time that night, laughing and allowing her head to fall against his shoulder. “It’s fine, you don’t have to worry about it. I had so much fun.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m glad. I know that not every parent likes helping with the school trips. Too much pressure. Too many kids. But you, they all seemed to love you.”

“I was never good with kids before,” she admitted, staring up at him as they stopped under a street light beside his car. “I used to work retail, a toy shop. Half the kids,” she shook her head trailing off. “I didn’t mean to get pregnant. It was an accident, but it was the greatest thing to ever happen to me. I just…”

“You just worry you’re not doing good enough, that you’re a bad parent?” Fitz finished for her, looking down and her and she nodded. “Jemma, I know kids, I know families. And you’re doing amazing.”

“You sure?” Jemma asked, feeling somewhat uncertain about what Fitz said. Everyone told her that she was doing amazing, but she just didn’t believe that. She lacked the confidence.

He dipped his head down even further this time, and kissed her on the lips, a deep tender kiss and it took only seconds for Jemma to sink into it. “I am. One hundred percent. One million even,” he told her once they pulled apart, allowing his forehead to rest against hers. “If you want, you can go home. See her.”

Jemma shook her head. “No, not tonight. She’s at Thomas’ house. Zach and Mindy invited her for a sleepover, I told her to go. They’ve become quite close friends.”

“They have,” Fitz agreed, as he had witnessed the friendship blossom and prosper over the past few weeks. “What do you… what do you want to do?”

“Let’s go back to yours,” she replied, her voice taking on a sultry tone.

And it threw Fitz, he hadn’t expected that from her. Not tonight anyway. “Mine? Are you… are you sure…”

“I am if you are.”

“I don’t have… I don’t have any…”

 A laugh from Jemma. “You don’t think Daisy would let me come out without protection?”

That was all it took for Fitz to fumble in his pockets for his keys.


	4. December

“Is Mummy having fun?” Peggy asked her as she was being tucked in for the night, and Daisy smiled down at the girl who was more than just her friend’s daughter, her niece.

“She is, she texted me when you were getting ready, said that she was missing you and she loves you.”

The young girl beamed, seemingly happy that her mother was having fun on her date. Well, date was a loose word to describe what Jemma was doing with Fitz. The two of them had headed out shopping, Jemma going out to get Peggy’s Christmas presents, Fitz helping her with it.

Daisy was on babysitting duties, making sure that Peggy had no idea they were out getting her Christmas presents. Not that Daisy minded, she more than enjoyed spending time with the girl. In fact, Peggy had been sleeping over at Daisy’s once a week, whenever Jemma went out with Fitz.

“Can I ask you a question?”

The question shocked Daisy, as Peggy’s voice was small and timid, something that was so unlike her.

“Sure, what’s up Monkey?”

“Who was my real daddy? I know that Mummy doesn’t like taking about him, that he makes her sad.”

Daisy was stumped for a moment. She hadn’t expected this question from Peggy as she had never asked about her birth father before. She had always thought that Peggy never thought about him, that she only thought about how it was just her and her mum against the rest of the world. But it seems that wasn’t the case.

“Yeah,” Daisy began, sitting on the bed, brushing at the young girl’s hair, pushing it behind her ear. “He does make Mummy sad because he wasn’t a very nice man.”

“Did he break her heart?”

“He did.”

“But she’s happy now with Fitz?”

“She is,” Daisy whispered, her voice sadder than she hoped because all she wanted was for her friend to be happy. “But you will always be the most important person to her. She loves you more than anything else.”

“More than science?”

A laugh from Daisy. Jemma did have such a love for science that everyone picked up on, but there was nothing in the world, no one else, that she would ever love more than she loved her daughter. “Yeah, she loves you more than science.”

Peggy looked as though she were about to reply but then a yawn escaped her and her eyes fluttered. Daisy just laughed, leaning over and placing a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow Monkey, and we can go out for pancakes?”

The young girl nodded, cuddling close to her stuffed bear and closed her eyes, sinking into sleep. “Night Daisy.”

Daisy just smiled, standing up and walking across the room, switching off the light and leaving the room, wondering what she had ever done to deserve the two of them in her life.

***

When Christmas finally came around, another couple of weeks later, Daisy and Fitz where at Jemma’s apartment, the four of them spending Christmas together. Daisy had stayed overnight, wanting to be there with Peggy first thing in the morning. It was her first Christmas with the girl (well first Christmas with Peggy that Peggy would remember), and she didn’t want to miss a minute of it.

She had been there when Peggy had woken up at 5am in the morning, had been woken up by Peggy in fact, who had come running into her room screaming that Santa had been. Daisy had woken up, somewhat bleary and when she asked if Jemma was awake, Peggy shook her head, saying that she couldn’t wake her mummy up until 6am.

So the two of them had spent the hour drawing together, Peggy close to exploding by the time that 6am came around and she could go into her mum’s room.

“Merry Christmas,” Jemma had whispered, placing a kiss to her daughter’s head as she gave them the presents that came from her and Daisy, and not Santa.

Peggy seemed more than happy opening the present, crying in delight when ever she got something she wanted, that excitement only building whenever they were able to go into the living room, Peggy running on a head and Jemma crying after her not to open anything until she had entered the room.

That was earlier in the day.

Now Peggy was sitting on the floor with Fitz, the two of them constructing a Lego set that Peggy had gotten from Santa. Jemma was in the kitchen, making the Christmas lunch.

Daisy was leaning against the doorway, a glass of wine in her hand. She was kind of in the kitchen, and she also kind of wasn’t. She knew that Jemma preferred her here, close enough that she had company but not in the way.

“Peggy seems to really like Fitz,” Daisy told her, not getting a reply for a moment as Jemma was checking the turkey in the oven. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her get on that well with someone.”

“I know,” Jemma said, standing up and wiping at her forehead with her sleeve. “She really does seem to like him.”

“And he really like you too,” Daisy told her.

“I like him too Daisy. He told me that he loved me the other night.”

“And…”

“I told him that I loved him too,” Jemma admitted, telling Daisy this for the first time and watching as her friends face light up with joy at the news. “I’m happier with him than I ever was with Will… has Peggy asked about him since that…”

“No,” Daisy reassured her. “No, she hasn’t.”

“Good, that’s good.”

Daisy entered the kitchen, and set the wine glass down, making her way to her friend and crouching down beside her. “You’re worried about something, what’s the matter?”

“I’m worried that this isn’t going to end well, that something is going to go…”

“If something does happen, I’m going to be here for you. But you’re happy at the minute, yeah?” Jemma nodded, and she continued. “That’s all that matters. You’re happy, and everything is going well for you. And if something does go wrong, then we’ll deal with it when the time comes. And my offer is still valid. If he breaks your heart, I’ll break his nose.”

A laugh from her friend, and Jemma shook her head. She never got to say anything as the timer went off on her phone, signalling that everything was now ready to eat. “C’mon,” Jemma began, standing up and reaching down to help Daisy up. “Let’s get lunch sorted.”

***

Fitz and Daisy left them early in the evening, wanting Jemma and Peggy to have some alone time together. The afternoon had been fun, the four of them enjoying Christmas dinner together, sharing laughs and pulling Christmas crackers.

After lunch, the rest of the afternoon had been spent playing board games, Jemma and Fitz against Daisy and Peggy. It was a close competition, but in the end, it was Daisy and Peggy who had won, the two of them not subtle in their victory at all.

The two of them had did victory laps around the living room, Peggy on Daisy’s back as Jemma and Fitz just sat curled up on the sofa, laughing.

When Daisy did leave, it wasn’t without a few tears from Peggy who didn’t want her aunt to leave, but Jemma thought half of it was down to the fact that her daughter was tried, she had been up since the early hours of the morning.

“I’ll come see you tomorrow,” Daisy had reassured, holding her close before passing her back to her mum. “And then it’s your birthday this week, and we’re going to have a party, yeah? Eat lots of cake?”

The idea of eating lots of cake seemed really appealing to Peggy, and she smile, before a yawn escaped her. Jemma just smiled, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s temple as she said farewell to her best friend and to her boyfriend.

“C’mon Monkey,” Jemma whispered when it was just the two of them, Christmas now and truly over. She rocked her daughter back and forth, hoping to help her relax. “How about we go get ready for bed and then sleep.”

“No,” Peggy protested, obviously wanting to stay awake. “I wanna watch film.”

Jemma knew that she shouldn’t, knew that she should get her daughter ready for bed but then again, it was Christmas, and what was the point of Christmas without a bit of fun.

“Let’s go see what’s on then,” Jemma whispered to her as she made her way back through the apartment.

It didn’t take them long to find something, an old animation on the TV but Peggy didn’t stay awake long enough to watch it, falling asleep in her mother’s arms.

Jemma just shook her head, smiling down at her daughter, before standing up and making her way to Peggy’s bedroom, thinking about how this had been one of the best, if not the best, Christmas yet.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all your support with this one, I'm so glad that you're enjoying it!


	5. January

“Thank you,” Peggy told her mum before yawning as Jemma tucked her in after the day that they had.  “For today.”

“It’s okay,” Jemma smiled down at her. “I’m glad that you had fun. I’m sorry that Thomas couldn’t come.”

“It doesn’t matter. Mindy says we can go bowling when he’s better.”

Jemma smiled at that, more than glad that she had found a close friend. She and Thomas had grown extremely close over the past few months, and Peggy had even invited him to her birthday party at the zoo that day, but he had come down with the flu and had been unable to attend. Peggy had been somewhat upset, but overall it had been a good day. Both Daisy and Fitz had joined them, Fitz telling her all about the monkeys once they had reached the primate house, and he even bought her a stuffed monkey that was larger than her from the gift store, carrying the both of them to the car after.

It had been adorable, and for the briefest of moments, Jemma could imagine a life with the three of them, a happy family, and in that moment, she panicked, she freaked out. Her and Fitz had only been dating formally for a number of months now.

Not that long, and there she was, trying to plan their futures.

“Hey,” Daisy had asked her as she watched Fitz carry Peggy out the exit. “What’s wrong?” Daisy then followed her gaze, seeing what she was looking at. “They’re pretty adorable.”

“I think I love him,” she whispered, her voice somewhat shocked as she watched the two of them walk ahead, Peggy’s head resting on Fitz’s shoulder, the girl looking as though she were about to fall asleep.

“You told me that, you told me that you love him at Christmas. Heck, we all saw you two under the mistletoe.”

“No I think I _love_ him.”

“Oh,” Daisy whispered, realising what Jemma was saying now. Now knowing why Jemma was somewhat distant, as if she were nervous. “As in the future…”

“I can’t… seeing them two like that, it makes me wonder, Fitz is amazing with her but I’m terrified.” She turned to face her friend, and Daisy could see she was somewhat nervous. She knew that the idea of settling down with someone, it scared Jemma somewhat. But it wasn’t really the idea of commitment. It was the idea of someone leaving her. And with Peggy, those feelings just now seemed to be exaggerated.

“You don’t have to decide on anything yet,” she told Jemma, hoping that her friend would understand. “Not yet anyway. And whatever happens, you know I’m here, okay?”

Jemma nodded.

“Now, c’mon. I actually want Fitz to buy us pizza on the way home.”

“Bowling?” Jemma replied to her daughter, her eyes wide with excitement. “Wow, that sounds amazing. You love bowling!”

Peggy nodded, beaming up at her mother. “And we can get pizza after!” Another yawn escaped her at this point. She reached for the stuffed monkey that Fitz had gotten her that day. “Thank you again.”

“It’s okay.” She pressed a kiss to her daughter’s head and smiled. “I love you Monkey.”

“I love you too,” she replied, her voice slurred with sleep and Jemma just brushed her hair to the side, and walked over to the door, turning the light off, watching as her daughter settled into sleep, before closing the door.

***

“Hey,” he began to ask. “You okay?”

Jemma blinked, wondering just how long she had been lost in Fitz’s eyes. “Yeah,” she replied, smiling at him, hoping that she could convince him that she was okay, that she hadn’t been lost in his eyes, wondering what a future with him would be like. “Just… just…”

“Just what?” his lips curved up into a smirk, as he reached up, brushing at her hair. He saw a blush creep across her cheeks, and his smile widened. He had never thought that he would ever find someone like Jemma, that he could ever be this happy with someone. But he was, and it was all that he wanted and more.

“I love you,” she whispered and that was all that he needed. He leaned in, closing the gap that was between the two of them. His lips danced over hers, and he felt her hand wrap around the back of his neck, and before they could even deepen the kiss, the front door slammed open.

“I’m home!” There was a pause, a stomping of feet. Then; “Eewwwww!”

The couple pulled apart, and looked over the back of the sofa, and saw that Peggy was standing there, a look of disgust on her face. She had seen her mother and her teacher kiss before, and on multiple occasions, but she still found it gross.

Jemma supposed the girl was six years old, and she just found kissing gross in general, regardless of who was doing it. “Hi Monkey,” she greeted, watching as the girl threw her overnight bag down and climbed onto the sofa, pushing herself in the tiny gap between Jemma and Fitz. “How was your sleepover?”

Peggy beamed up at her mum, her smile missing one of its front teeth, the thing having fallen out a few days previous. “It was so much fun! We ate sweets and we chocolate and we watched TV!”

“Wow!” Jemma explained, and out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Daisy pick up the coat that Peggy had abandoned, hanging it up on hook in the hall. “Daisy! Are you staying for dinner?”

Daisy shook her head. “Not today, I’m going out.”

“Oh,” Jemma said, suddenly remembering. “With Piper? I forgot, I’m so sorry Daisy. Have fun tonight.”

“Shall do. See you soon Monkey?”

Peggy nodded over the back of the sofa, before sitting back down with her mum, once Daisy had left. “Are me and Fitz going to make dinner tonight?”

Jemma looked at Fitz. He had been spending more and more time with them at the moment, even staying over some nights. “I mean, if you want…”

“Yes!” Peggy cried, somewhat excited. She always liked cooking (or making a mess, it was hard to tell the difference when she was in the kitchen). “Can we start now? Please please please please please please please please?”

Jemma looked at Fitz, who had a smile on his face as the young girl continued to beg and beg and beg. He just laughed, and looked at Jemma. “We could, it wouldn’t be ready until after five anyway, and it seems I’m not the only one who’s hungry?”

“You're always hungry." A beat and, "Go on then,” Jemma told them. “But you’ve to wash up first Monkey.”

Jemma could have sworn she had never seen Peggy move faster in her life.

***

Somehow, her kitchen survived the two of them cooking in it, and the meal had been amazing. Fitz was simply a great cook (he always claimed that it was down to Hunter but Jemma knew the truth) and she always looked forward to his home cooked meals more than the days they went out or ordered takeaway.

She was now curled up beside him, her head resting on his shoulder and his arm around her waist. Two glasses of wine rested on the coffee table and Peggy sat in the corner, drawing whilst some old comedy played on the television.

Fitz was staying over that night, he had been more and more in the past weeks. He always joked now that he was spending more time at her apartment than his own place but neither of them cared, they had settled into this relationship with ease, as if they were two parts of a whole that had found each other.

They didn’t need to say anything, just lying there with each other was more than enough, Fitz pressing soft kisses to the top of her head every so often. Peggy was just as comfortable with the relationship, not caring that her mum was dating her teacher. In fact, she seemed more than happy that someone was making her mum as happy as she was.

At around eight o’clock, Jemma’s gaze had flicked over to Peggy, the girl fighting to stay awake. Jemma uncurled herself from Fitz and walked over to her. “I think its time for bed,” she whispered, reaching down and lifting the girl up into her arms.

Peggy couldn’t even protest, a yawn escaped her and she allowed her mother to carry her through the apartment and tuck her into bed. It was only a short story that she got tonight, not that Peggy complained. It was one about a monkey, something that she demanded most nights and one that had been gifted to her for Christmas from Fitz.

“Mummy?” she asked, once Jemma had reached the door, causing her to turn and head back into the room. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” Jemma reassured her, hoping that everything was okay as she once again sat down on Peggy’s bed. “What’s wrong?”

“Is Fitz going to be my new daddy?”

The question threw Jemma. She hadn’t been expecting that and she had no idea how she was going to reply to this, how she was going to tell Peggy that she wasn’t sure, but there was a possibility.

“I don’t know,” she decided on, answering honestly. “I really don’t know.”

“But maybe?”

“Maybe,” Jemma replied. “Maybe one day Monkey.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Thanks so much for checking out this chapter and feel free to follow me on tumblr [(lilsciencequeen)](https://lilsciencequeen.tumblr.com/). I really hope that you enjoyed this one!


	6. February

“Doctor Simmons,” Fitz greeted, inviting Jemma into the classroom before closing the door behind her. “I’m so glad that you could make it.”

Jemma rolled her eyes, taking the seat in front of his desk while he sat across from her, reaching for a file that had her daughter’s name scrawled across the front of it. He flicked it open, and grabbed some of the pages, passing them over to Jemma.

It was Peggy’s work, some of the stuff that he had been collecting through the year to give to Jemma, to show her at Parent’s Evening. Jemma flicked through it, her eyes scanning the work, and once she was done, she set it back down on the desk between the two of them. “You know I can’t fault her Jemma. She’s an amazing girl, she’s really grown this past few months. She’s found herself a great circle of friends, she’s doing the work, and more. There’s really nothing I can say that you won’t already know.”

Jemma nodded, unable to stop the smile that crossed her face. This was the first time anyone had ever said something like this about Peggy, at her nursery back in England, they hadn’t been as positive, saying that she was a shy child, that she didn’t fit in and sometimes she was too smart for her own good. It had hurt Jemma to hear that, to hear that her daughter was alone and had no friends. She knew what that was like, it was what her own childhood had been like, and she didn’t want her daughter to go through what she had went through. “I have to thank you Fitz.”

“What for?” he asked, somewhat confused by her words. He had done nothing as far as he was aware. “I didn’t raise her to be polite, I hadn’t…”

“You helped her,” Jemma cut in, still smiling. “Fitz, when we first moved here, you know how she was, how nervous she was.” Jemma paused, taking a breath and then; “How lonely she was. She had no friends back in England and I was… I was terrified when she started here, you know that. I was scared it would be what it was like back at home, what it was like for me growing up and I… I didn’t want that for her, I didn’t want her to grow up without friends. I didn’t… I didn’t find Daisy until I was nearly twenty, and the years before that… those were some of the loneliest of my life. I wouldn’t wish that upon anyone, and especially not my own daughter. And you helped her, gave her all those colouring sheets with those facts on them…”

“The ones about the monkeys?”

A soft laugh. “The ones about the monkeys and she loves them. She still lists the facts from them. You helped her Fitz. She has friends here, she’s happy here. You’re an amazing teacher.”

“And you’re a great mother, Jemma. I don’t think…” he shook his head, changing his mind about what he was going to say. “You’re a great mother. Do you… do you have any other issues? Any questions that you want to ask?” When Jemma shook her head, he reached for another piece of paper, and spun it around so that it was facing Jemma. “Could I just grab a signature here?”

Jemma nodded, taking the pen that he was extending to her and quickly scanned the sheet before signing her name at the bottom with a flourish. She handed Fitz the pen back, who accepted it with a word of thanks. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked, and she nodded, going to leave the room but not before she leaned over the desk and kissed Fitz.

***

“So you’re proud of me?” Peggy asked, staring up at her mother with wide eyes, a smudge of ice cream on her nose.

Jemma nodded, before reaching into her pocket, and pulling out a tissue. She used it to wipe at the ice cream, Peggy squirming as she did so. Jemma just rolled her eyes, thinking about how it must be the one trait her daughter didn’t pick up from her, the need to be clean. “Very proud. You’re doing really well in school, and you’ve made friends.”

Peggy gave an enthusiastic nod, and this time the ends of her hair dipped into the ice cream, something that Jemma just rolled her eyes at. The girl would be getting a bath anyway later that night so there was no point trying to keep her clean when it was oh so clear that she was just going to make a mess again. “Thomas! And Claire! And Skye!”

“I know,” Jemma replied, turning her attention back to the dishes, and beginning to scrub at the pots and pans that were left over from dinner. Jemma wasn’t one of those people who could just leave the dishes sitting for hours on end, or even overnight. No, she did the dishes as soon as she had eaten her meal, making sure that they were both washed and dry before she went to bed. Peggy sometimes helped with the drying, enjoying helping her mum.

And it seemed that tonight would be no different. Once she had finished her ice cream, she left the bowl on the counter, empty except for the gloopy remains and grabbed her stool, the plastic scraping against the wood as she pulled it across the floor from its position in the corner, setting it beside her mum so that she could help.

She stepped up, grabbing the towel and reached across for the first plate, lifting it up and drying. “Helping tonight Monkey?” her mum asked, and she nodded. She liked helping her mum, and she knew that her mum liked it too. Sometimes she got tired, and Peggy knew that she worked hard, so helping here and there, she knew it was the good thing to do.

She set the plate down to the side once it was dry and reached for the next one. There was never much to do since it was just the two of them in the apartment, and when Fitz was round, there was never that much more dishes to do anyway.

Fitz wasn’t here tonight. He was busy was busy at work, it was parent’s evening so she had had the day off, and she had stayed at Daisy’s. Not that she minded. She liked when she got to stay at Daisy’s. They always had fun and ate too many sweets, something that always gave them a sore tummy after. Not that it stopped them.

Between the two of them, it only took them a couple of minutes to get all of the dishes done. It was Jemma who finished the drying, doing the knives and the larger pots and pans. Items that she can’t dry herself, the knives being too dangerous and the pots and pans being too heavy. Her mum always warned her that she could hurt her feet if she dropped the pots on them. And anyway, they made a scary clanging noise when they fell to the ground.

“Is that us done?” she asked, as Jemma reached for the last pot. Jemma nodded.

“Do you want to go get one of your jigsaws from Santa? And we can do some of it before bath time?”

Peggy’s eyes widened and she nodded. “The Disney one?”

“Of course, you go get it and we’ll do it in the living room.”

And with that, Peggy ran off through the apartment, heading to her bedroom.

***

He got home just after six that day, heading for his own apartment that night and not Jemma’s. They had both worked out that they couldn’t do that night. He was in work late, and she had an early start the next morning.

But they both had the day after off, so tomorrow he was staying at hers. And he had a question to ask her, he wanted to ask her if they wanted to take the next step in their relationship. If they wanted to move in together, either one of their apartments, or maybe one of their own. He practically lived there now anyway, the two of them fitting together perfectly. Daisy had called them two halves of one whole, destined to be together. Jemma seemed happy enough, and she had relaxed more, growing more and more comfortable in their relationship.

Fitz completely understood why she had been nervous to begin with, why she had been apprehensive, after what had happened last time, and now with Peggy, everything was completely understandable.

“Is that you?” a voice called from his apartment as he kicked the door shut behind him, sliding of his shoes and dumping them beside the door.

“Yeah!” Fitz called back. “I’ve got dinner!”

“Excellent,” Hunter said, appearing in the hall just as he was about to enter the kitchen, the other man rubbing his hands together. “Did you get me…”

“Enough hot sauce to blind a T-Rex? Yeah,” Fitz replied, dumping the bag on the island, turning to look at his friend and shaking his head. “That’s how they know us, you know that? We’re the hot sauce people to them?”

Hunter snorted with laughter, heading for the fridge as Fitz began to unpack the food. “Want a beer?” The door to the fridge was open, and Hunter was holding two bottle and Fitz nodded.

“Sure.”

He was just about to grab it, take it into the living room when he felt his phone buzz in his back pocket. He set his takeaway carton down and slid it out of his pocket, a smile crossing his face and his heart lighting up whenever he saw that it was Jemma.

“Jems?” he asked when he accepted the call, his tone light.

But hers was not. It was panicked, sobs coming down the line, heavy. “Hey,” he tried to soothe. Jems, hey what’s wrong? Take a deep breath, yeah? In, and out. In, and out. That’s it. You okay to tell me what’s wrong?”

When he heard her words, still laced with sobs, he felt his heart plummet.

“ _It’s Peggy, Fitz. Something’s… something’s happened.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so so sorry for that ending! All shall be revealed soon!  
> Thanks so much for checking out, I hope you enjoyed this one!


	7. March

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for the last chapter, I know some people were kinda shocked...  
> I hope this one makes up for it

His heart skipped a beat when he heard those words, his breath catching in his throat and he couldn’t help his mind racing to the worst possible conclusion. The whole world seemed to stop, and all his attention was focused on Jemma on the other end of the line. He didn’t even hear Hunter asking what was wrong from the other side of the room.

“What… what happened?” He somehow managed to stutter the words out, keeping his voice calm because he knew that panicking would only scare Jemma more, something that he didn’t want to do.

“ _She slipped, fell. Hurt her arm and I can’t… I can’t get her to the hospital Fitz. I think… it looks like its broke and I…”_ She paused to take a breath, a heavy shuddering thing that was heavy and full of tears. _“I can’t do this alone Fitz_. _”_

The words pained him to the very core and he chewed on his lip as he tried to think of what to say next. Then it came to him, what he had to do next. “I’ll be round in ten minutes, I’ll take the two of you up, okay? And she’s going to be okay Jemma. It’s nothing to worry about. I broke my arm about the same age as her, and it was alright, I’ll be over soon, yeah?”

A tearful okay came from the end of the line, and Fitz gave one more reassurance before he hung up and slid the phone back into his pocket.

“What’s wrong?” Hunter asked, following him out of the room as Fitz went to put his shoes back on. “Is everything okay?”

Fitz shrugged, grabbing for his keys. “Peggy fell, Jemma thinks she’s broken her arm and needs a lift up to the hospital, I’d said I’d do it.”

“Do you want me to save you food or…”

“Nah, there’s no point. God knows how long we’d be up there. I’ll see you soon?”

Hunter nodded. “Give Peggy my best, yeah?”

Fitz nodded before leaving the apartment, taking two steps at a time as he rushed down to where he had parked his car. Thankfully, the roads where empty, the rush hour traffic now having gone and it only took him five minutes to get to Jemma’s apartment.

When he entered, he found her cradling an extremely tearful Peggy on the sofa, the girl half in her coat and holding the stuffed monkey he had got her from the zoo close. “You okay?” he asked tentatively, knowing that it was a stupid question.

A shrug from Jemma as she stood up, careful not to bump into her daughter. “We’ve been better. Fitz, I can’t than you enough for this…”

He shook his head. “It’s nothing. Do you want me to carry Peggy to the car?”

Jemma was about to tell him that it wasn’t necessary but Peggy was nodding, whispering a soft “yes please” and it wasn’t long before Fitz had her in his arms, careful not to cause her anymore pain that necessary. Her stuffed monkey hung against his back, and as they started to make their way down the stairs, it bounced against his back.

Jemma explained to him what had happened, how she had been finishing of drying the dishes and putting them back when Peggy had fallen, and how she had panicked, unsure of what to do first.

“I feel like such a failure,” she whispered, looking at Fitz, her eyes still red and puffy, and shivered slightly in the cold air.

“Hey,” he told her, fastening Peggy safely into her car seat before Jemma climbed into the back beside her, sitting in the middle so that she was close to her daughter. “She fell Jemma, that wasn’t your fault. Accidents happen, and she’s gonna be okay.”

Jemma didn’t answer for a moment, before nodding. “I just…” She sighed, shaking her head, and reached over and brushed a loose curl away from Peggy’s face, the end still covered in ice cream, and damp with tears.

“Hey,” Fitz said again, and Jemma looked at him. “This isn’t your fault, okay?”

And slowly, she nodded, and Fitz smiled back at her before climbing into the driver’s seat, putting the keys into the ignition and starting the car.

***

It took them nearly half an hour to get to the hospital, but by the time that they had reached it, Peggy had stopped crying, and was reading one of the books Jemma had brought with her in the back of her car with her mother.

Fitz had quickly glanced in the rear-view mirror, a smile rising up on his face, his eyes twinkling before he turned his attention back to the road. It was some of these moments he enjoyed the most, the tender, intimate moments between mother and daughter, where it was just the two of the against the world.

Pulling into the parking space, he climbed out of the car, and opened the door on Peggy’s side, unbuckling her from the seat and lifting her up into his arms once again. Jemma also climbed up, grabbing her bag and shouldering it as she did so. There were a number of books inside, and some colouring in sheet and crayons. When he had asked her about it, she had said that they wouldn’t know how long they would be up there for, and she wanted to keep Peggy occupied, that it might help take her mind of what was happening.

The waiting room of the ER was somewhat busy, it was a Friday evening, a number of other family’s waiting to get seen, some with teens in various sports kids, and there also looked to be a hen night present, the bride to be having abandoned her heels and demonstrating a bruised and swollen ankle.

Jemma and Fitz, still carrying Peggy headed to reception, the man behind the desk looking up as they approached. “Is everything okay?”

“She fell,” Jemma began to explain, her voice less broken and distressed than it had been when she had phoned Fitz, but somewhat still upset. “I think she’s broken her arm…”

“Can I get her name?”

“Margaret Simmons.”

“Age?”

“6.”

After each question was answered by Jemma, there was a clacking of keys as the details were entered, and she continued passing on details, when the receptionist looked up, a somewhat sympathetic look in his face. “I’m sorry, but there may be a bit of a wait tonight, we’re extremely busy, but as soon as someone can, they’ll see you. She’s young, which might help.”

“Thank you,” Jemma said, turning back to Fitz who was whispering softly to Peggy, obviously something funny as her lips were curved up into a smile, and she was giggling. Jemma smiled herself at this, glad to see that her daughter was okay, and Fitz… seeing him like this only made her fall in love with him even more. “C’mon, let’s go grab a seat.”

***

It was nearly an hour at a half before they were called, a doctor from the woman with her brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and wearing pink scrubs covered in polka-dots standing in the far doorway. Jemma looked up and breathed a sigh of relief as Fitz packed away the colouring in sheets that they had been working on, and once again lifted Peggy into his arms, following as Jemma lead them to the side room.

“Hi,” the woman greeted. “I’m Claire, I’ll be with you tonight. Is this Margaret here?”

Jemma nodded. “Yeah, but she prefers Peggy.”

“Of course, and I hear she might have broken her arm, what seems to have happened?”

Fitz closed the door behind him, helping Peggy to sit on the bed in the middle of the room, the girl’s eyes somewhat wide with fear. Jemma was instantly beside her, holding her daughter close. “She was running,” Jemma began, her voice hitching slightly. “She slipped fell. I wasn’t in the room at the time and…”

“It’s okay, do you mind if I take a closer look?” The question was directed more at Peggy, who didn’t answer, just looked up at her mum instead, and Jemma nodded, reassuring her that it was okay. Claire was extremely careful in examining her arm, removing it from the sling that Jemma had put it in to support it, and it didn’t take her long. “It’s likely broken, or possibly fractured, but we’re gonna need to do an X-Ray to be certain. We can take you now if that’s okay?”

“Please,” Jemma replied, and Claire smiled at her.

“If you’d like to follow me.”

It took some time, but Jemma was able to help Peggy slide of the bed, and took her hand, the girl having decided to walk and together, the three of them and Claire made their way to get the X-Ray room.

Fitz hung back, knowing that only Jemma could go in with Peggy, minding their stuff. “I’ll see you soon,” he told her, leaning in a pecking her on the lips.

“Thank you Fitz,” she told him, and together with Peggy they entered the room.

“Will it hurt?” the young girl asked, and Jemma shook her head.

“No, it’s just like having your picture taken but it shows your bones…”

“Like a skeleton?”

Jemma beamed at her daughter. “Exactly like a skeleton.”

And between her and Claire, they were able to talk Peggy through everything, telling her all that was happening, and she seemed to lap it up, enjoying learning about everything and anything that was happening in the hospital that night, and when the results finally came through, it was discovered that it was only a hairline fracture, but it would still need a cast to be safe.

The medical team let pick the colour that it would be, and to Peggy, it was a tough decision, but she eventually settled on purple, the colour being her favourite at that point in time. It didn’t take long to apply, and with some information leaflets, painkillers and a check up in a number of weeks time, they were free to leave.

“Is that your monkey?” Claire was asking Peggy as Jemma was signing the last bits of paper work, Fitz holding her once again as tiredness was quickly setting in, the excitement and the adrenaline from the night now wearing off. “Did daddy buy it for you?”

Fitz froze, unsure of what to say and by the hitch of breath from behind him, it was obvious that Jemma had just entered the conversation at this point in time. “Oh no,” she began, looking between Fitz and Claire.

“We’re not married.”

“He’s not the father…”

“I’m just the boyfriend…”

“My apologies,” Claire said, blushing a dark red. “All the best for the next couple of weeks, and I’ll see you for your appointment?”

Jemma nodded, thanking her again for everything that she had done, before she hurried off, about to see her next patient.

“Home?” Fitz asked and Jemma nodded again.

“Home.”

***

“You were such a brave girl,” Jemma told her daughter, tucking her into bed, carefully, before leaning down and placing a kiss on her forehead. “If you want, we can go out for dinner tomorrow, go to the toy shop and you can get something.”

“I can?” Peggy asked, disbelieving, her voice unsure, and heavy with exhaustion.

Jemma nodded. “Of course, you were so brave today, and I’m so proud of you, and... get a goodnight’s sleep, okay, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Another kiss was pressed on her daughter’s forehead, and Jemma left the room, making her way into her own room, and collapsing into the bed, curling up instantly next to Fitz. He had just decided to stay the night, knowing that Jemma would like someone else with her that night. “I want to thank you,” she told him, heaving a sigh. “I just…”

“It’s okay, and what….”

“I feel like such a failure, I panicked, and I didn’t know what to do.”

“That’s okay, you needed help and you couldn’t do this alone and that’s okay. It doesn’t make you weak, it doesn’t make you a failure, it makes you human Jemma. You’re such a strong person, you’re a great mother, and you’ve… you’ve done so much, you’re accomplished in your field, you’re… it’s the reason that I love you.”

“I know, and you’re so kind, so caring, so lovely, and I love you too, and I want to ask you something, it’s been on my mind a while now…”

“What?” He sat up, and she copied him, facing him before taking a deep breath and speaking what was on her mind.

Her tone was nervous and she couldn’t meet his eyes, not properly. “I want you to move in Fitz, I want to live with you, I want to wake up each morning beside you and fall asleep with you every night…”

“Yes.”

“Yes what?”

He laughed at this. “Yes Jemma, I will move in with you.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

“Do you think Peggy will like it?”

He nodded, his eyes wide and twinkling in the dim lamps of the room. “I think she’ll love it.”

And he was right. Peggy more than loved having Fitz moving with them, and the pancakes that he made for breakfast most mornings. She loved curling up with both her parents at night and watching TV. She loved Fitz coming with her to her hospital appointments to get her arm checked out (something that was healing well at this point, Claire telling them that it would only be a couple of more weeks before the cast could come off). She liked him taking her to and from school each day. She just loved having him there, and seeing how happy it made her mother.

Jemma loved having him there too, waking up each morning wrapped in his embrace, telling him that she would love to have five more minutes with him in bed, but she couldn’t, that she had too much to do, before trying to climb out of bed only to have him wrap his arm around her waist and pull her back in close to him. She loved when he made dinner, plating it and serving it for when she got home from work, and she loved when he picked her up, meaning that she had to avoid the bus home. She loved late nights curled up with him with a gin, and a film but most importantly, she loved him.

It was one early Saturday morning in March when the two of them were violently awoken, Peggy knocking on the door and calling for the both of them to come out, and if Jemma’s thinking was correct, she knew that Thomas Davis would not be far behind her.

Fitz groaned next to her as he was pulled back into the world of the waking but he instantly lit up whenever he saw her lying there. “Morning.”

“Morning,” she replied. “Sleep well.”

His lips flicked up. “’Course I did.”

Jemma returned the smile and was just about to say something when there was a desperate cry of “Mummy!” from the other side of the door.

“Ready to face the day?” he asked, a hint of teasing to his voice.

“Of course,” she relied, pushing back the sheets, attempting to leave the bed only to get pulled back again, close to him and she felt his breath against her ear, hot as he whispered. “Five more minutes, they don’t know we’re awake yet.”


	8. April

The beginning of April brought rain showers and sun, spring well and truly here now. Peggy still had her cast on, she still had two more weeks of it before she could get it removed and she was getting more and more frustrated with it.

She wanted to be able to play with her group of friends in the playground, to go on the swings and the slides and the climbing frame but she couldn’t (she had tried though), not yet, and she hated it. No matter how much her mother tried to reassure her that there wasn’t long left until it came off, to Peggy, there was still far too much time.

“Soon Monkey,” Jemma tried to reassure her one Saturday morning, whilst trying to get ready for work, and clean the dishes. “We’re going back to the hospital soon, and they’re going to remove it.”

“I want to play on the climbing frame.”

Jemma sighed, letting out a long breath and turned to face her daughter. “You can soon, you just have to wait.”

Peggy frowned at her mother, and Jemma approached her, reaching over and brushing on of her loose curls out of her face. “Do you have to work?”

Jemma nodded, biting on her lower lip. She never worked on a Saturday, it was supposed to be one of her days off but she had to go into the lab, to check on some results from an experiment that she had been running all week, and it was time critical, something that she couldn’t miss. “Just today Monkey, but it’ll all be okay, Fitz is going to be here, you know that?”

Peggy nodded as Fitz came into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around Jemma’s waist and pulling her in close. “Morning.” He pressed a kiss to the side of her face before she spun around in his embrace, pressing a kiss to his lips, and he returned it, sinking into the moment.

Peggy made a fake gagging sound at the kiss. As much as she loved Fitz being there and the both of them, like every six year old, she hated public display of affections, especially kisses.

A laugh escaped Jemma as she pulled away, her forehead coming to rest against Fitz’s. “Are you sure you two are going to be okay here today?”

He nodded, reaching up and brushing her cheek. “Of course I am, I’ll make dinner for us tonight, yeah?”

Her lips flicked up into a soft smile. “That would be great Fitz, I’ll see you later?”

A nod from him and he leaned over, pecking her on the lips once more and before Jemma left the apartment, she bent down, placing a kiss on her daughter’s head. “I’ll see you soon, I love you.”

Peggy looked up, beaming. “I love you too.”

And with that Jemma was gone, leaving Fitz and Peggy alone in the kitchen. He made his way over to the fridge, pulling out some eggs and bacon, before turning back to the young girl sitting at the table, an empty plate in front of her, a book to her left. “Do you want some toast?”

She looked up and nodded. “Yes please.”

He nodded, and after setting the things that he was holding down, dropped two pieces of bread into the toaster, and pushed the switch down. “How’s your arm?” he asked her, cracking two eggs and placing three slices of bacon into a frying pan, the food already beginning to sizzle.

“I want it off,” she complained, looking up and pouting at him. “I want to play on the climbing frame again.”

“I know,” he told her, mirroring what Jemma had told her. “But you’re almost there, you do want your arm to get better, don’t you?”

A pause, Peggy unsure of what to say, before she nodded. And whilst Fitz cooked his breakfast, the two of them made light conversation, and it was when he sat down opposite her, his plate in front of him that he let out a breath, nervous and shaking. “I want to ask you something.”

“What?”

“I love your mummy, you know that. And she loves me, and I want… I want to ask her to marry me Peggy.”

“Marry mummy?” the younger girl asked, slightly confused as to where the conversation was going. She set her half eaten slice of toast down, wondering what he was talking about. A glop of jam was hanging by the edge of her mouth, but it went ignored.

He nodded. “Yeah, I want to marry her and spent the rest of my life with her, with the both of you. I wanted to ask you because….”

“Will you be my daddy then?” The question from the girl was soft and genuine, cautious and full of hope.

“Do you want me to be your daddy?” His voice was hesitant, because he knew what he was asking was big, he was coming into their lives, maybe permanently, and he was terrified. He knew how close the two of them were, and he didn’t want to come barging in on them.

And she nodded again. “I would love that. You love me and mummy. We love you. We can be a family.”

He gave her a watery smile, tears welling behind his eyes. “How about after breakfast we go shopping? Get stuff for tonight?”

“Can we get ice-cream?”

He laughed because of course she would ask that. Jemma always joked that the girl was addicted to it, and if there was an opportunity for her to get it, she went for it. “Of course,” he told her. “Of course we can get ice-cream.”

***

The house was quiet when she entered, closing the door behind her and locking it before finally sliding the keys into the dish. “Fitz?” she called out, wondering where everyone was. “Peggy?”

She slid off her coat, hanging it up and made her way through the apartment, once again calling out to them, and Fitz appeared from the kitchen, a nervous smile on his face. “How was work?”

She shook her head, rolling her eyes. “I don’t know how those lab techs ever got their jobs there, there’s just…” Another shake of her head. “How as your day?”

“We went for ice cream!” Peggy shouted from the living room, peering over the back of the sofa, her head turning and following Jemma as the older woman made her way through the living room. There was a massive smile on her face, and her eyes were wide. A nervous, excited energy seemed to radiate off her, as if she couldn’t settle down, and Jemma wondered just how much sugar she had consumed that afternoon.

“Did you?” Jemma replied, raising an eyebrow. “Will you still eat your dinner?”

She nodded enthusiastically, then her attention darted to Fitz and her smile grew even wider. “Are you going to ask her?”

“Ask her what?” Jemma asked, her attention also turning back to Fitz. “Fitz…” she trialled off, watching as he reached up and rubbed at the back of his neck, a nervous trait that he had, and all colour seemed to have drained from his face. “What’s going on?” she asked, now unable to keep the panic out of her voice.

Fitz stepped closer to her, closing the gap that had formed between the two of them, and took both her hands in his own, his thumbs rubbing the back of them. “Jemma, I love you, and I love Peggy. Having you two in my life, it’s been amazing, these past six months, I can’t thank you enough for inviting me into your lives. But I want… I want to spend the rest of my life with you Jemma, there’s no one else I would rather spend my life with, there’s no one I love as much as you, there’s no one I will love as much as you.” He paused, his breath shaking as he inhaled, and Jemma saw that tears were running down his face. And then he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small box, flicking it open as he dropped to one knee. A small ring was present in the box, glimmering in the lights from the living room. “What I’m trying to say, what I’m trying to ask is will you marry me?”

Jemma froze, unsure of what to say, what to do, reaching up with one of her hands and wiping away at her own tears that she was crying before she nodded. “Yes.” Her voice was barely more than a whisper, full of shock. “Yes, Fitz, I will marry you.”

He stood up, removing the ring from the box and slid it onto Jemma’s finger before wrapping his arms around her, the box dropped and discarded on the floor as Jemma’s own arms snaked around his neck, pulling him even closer, her lips meeting, a deep tender kiss occurring between the two of them.

“Are you getting married?” Peggy asked, her voice breaking them out of the moment, out of the bubble that had been created where it was just the two of them. “Is Fitz going to be my daddy?”

They both turned to her, and Jemma nodded, a slight hint of laughter to her tone. “Yes, Fitz is going to be your new daddy.”

And with that, she climbed over the edge of the sofa, and jumped up against her. Jemma lifted her up, holding her close

“I love you,” Fitz whispered again, his lips once more dusting hers.

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter left, I can't believe that we only have one more chapter left, but thank you so much for all your support. I can't believe that this has 100 kudos, thank you all so much!


	9. May

It wasn’t until May the next year that the wedding took place, and, when asked, Daisy couldn’t tell who was the more excited of them; Jemma, Fitz or Peggy. It was a close competition, but if she had to be honest, she would have said Peggy, the young girl, now aged seven, had been more than excited when she had been told she would be allowed to dress up, to be a fairy princess for her mum’s wedding.

Jemma had done her hair up in plaits, and a flower crown placed on the top, soft pink roses adoring it, the same shade as her flower girl dress, a role that she had taken very seriously, making sure that the petals were scattered evenly up the aisle. Daisy had smiled watching her, the spitting image of her mother then, both in looks and personality.

She had sat on Daisy’s lap the whole of the ceremony, somewhat squirming, and eating some of the dried fruit that Jemma had packed for her so that she wouldn’t get hungry through it. She had seemed somewhat distressed through the vows, wondering why both her mother and Fitz, along with most others in the room where crying. But all it had taken where a few whispered words in her ear and she settled somewhat.

Once the ceremony was done, Jemma came and lifted her, carrying her daughter with her as her and Fitz left the building together as husband and wife, cheers echoing all around them. A smiled crossed Daisy’s face as she watched them climb into the car, Jemma making sure that she was buckled in, before driving off, getting the first batch of wedding photos done.

And Daisy was glad that the photos with her and the other members of the wedding party weren’t going to be done for at least another hour.

It meant that she had time to touch up her makeup.

***

“Back again?” Hunter asked as Jemma grabbed another one of the mini burgers from the selection that was sitting on the table. He had an eyebrow raised suspiciously as her hands hoovered, before grabbing at the mini chicken wings again.  

“What?” she asked, seemingly confused by his question. “I’m hungry.”

Hunter’s eyebrow, somehow, climbed higher. “You ate your dinner, and most of Fitz’s, not that he noticed he was that absorbed in you. And this is your fifth time back here tonight.”

Jemma began stuttering, trying to find something, anything, that she could answer this with. “Nerves?”

A shake of Hunter’s head as a playful smirk caused his lips to smirk upwards. “What can I say, you’re not a good liar love.”

She looked over her shoulder, shooting a somewhat nervous glance, but her eyes eventually settled on her husband, in deep conversation with Piper and Daisy. “Mind this,” she told Hunter, passing him the plate over and turning on her heal, missing him almost dropping the thing on the ground.

“Fitz,” she said, walking over to him, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. He looked at her as she approached, a look of pure awe flashing across his face as she did so. “Can I talk to you?”

He nodded. “Of course, what’s wrong.”

She didn’t answer for a moment, just chewed nervously on her lip and it was at that moment that Fitz realised that she meant alone, just the two of them alone. He turned back to Piper and Daisy. “Could you… would you…”

Piper shook her head whilst Daisy told him to go join his wife, it was their big day after all and he smiled at them, before going over and joining his wife, his arm wrapping around her waist as he led her to a secluded part of the grounds. “What is it, Jems? What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t… I have… I thought that maybe it was just the wedding stress making it late, and you know that my period is never reliable in the first place, it’s the one thing about me that isn’t…”

“Jemma,” he cut in, taking her hands in the both of his and holding them between them. “What are you trying to tell me.”

A heavy breath from Jemma, as if she were trying to compose herself. “I’m pregnant Fitz.”

He stared at her for a moment mouth agape, and blue eyes twinkling in dim light. “You’re… you’re pregnant.

A nod. “I’m pregnant.”

“Is it… is it mine…”

“No.” Then, an eye roll. “Ugh Fitz, of course it’s yours. Who else would it be?”

“I don’t… I don’t… are we going to be parents?”

She nodded, tears once again brimming, clinging to her lashes. “We’re going to be parents.”

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close and wrapping his arms around her, his lips coming down to meet hers, a slow intimate tender kiss between the two of them occurring. If someone had told him that this time two years ago he would be married, and expecting a child, he would have laughed at them, told them that it was nonsense, but here he was, with his own family. And he knew that Jemma would be feeling the same, that she would never have expected life to give her something like this either.

But here they were, together about to start the next chapter of their lives, to take the next step together.

When they finally pulled apart, he reached up and brushed back one of the curls that had fallen loose, hanging down the side of her face. “Do you think Peggy will be happy?”

Jemma cast a look at her daughter, now curled up on an extra-large chair with Thomas, exhausted after the day. The two of them had spent all evening, running about the grounds playing. It was Peggy that had helped her to finalise the decision to have her reception outdoors, and thankfully, the weather had stayed nice. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and once the sun had gone down, the light of the moon and the fairy lights had lit up the place perfectly. But one of the things that she enjoyed the most was having the father-daughter dance, and her first dance with her husband under the light of a hundred dozen stars. It had been simply magical, something that had made her cry so much but something that she had loved so much too.

“I think she’ll love it,” Jemma whispered, a soft smile crossing her face as she watched her daughter shuffle in sleep. She was glad that she had found a friend in Thomas, someone she could play with, someone who was always there for her. Someone who made her happy. And she wouldn’t have a lonely childhood, not like she had had. “She’s always wanted to be a big sister.”

“Shall we tell her now or tomorrow?”

A pause as Jemma thought this through. “Tomorrow. We can make a whole big thing of it. She’ll love it.”

“Speaking of tomorrow,” Fitz began. “Shall we call it a night? It’s an early start.”

Fitz was right. They were going to have an early start tomorrow, a morning flight to the Seychelles that they had to be there for a couple of hours early. “I think we should,” Jemma whispered, looking around the grounds where a handful of guests had already leaving, a couple more now getting ready to leave. “Say thank you then bed?”

 A nod from her husband before they started making the rounds. In the end, it only took them fifteen minutes to talk to everyone, to thank them for joining them on their special day. When they finally got to Peggy, she was alone on the chair, Thomas’ parents already leaving. “Hey,” Fitz whispered, lifting her up, into his arms. “Wanna go to bed Monkey?”

She mumbled something that they couldn’t understand and rubbed at her face. “Not tired,” she repeated after a moment, before adjusting herself in his arms so she was comfortable.

Jemma laughed, shaking her head. “I think you are. We can go to sleep and then get up for holiday tomorrow, yeah?”

Another mumble from Peggy and Jemma took that as her agreeing, and smiling up at her husband, the two of them walked back to their hotel room, Fitz tucking Peggy into bed whilst Jemma just reached into the bag, passing her her stuffed monkey. “I love you,” she whispered, her eyes closed, and Fitz smiled down at her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“I love you too.”

When it was Jemma’s turn, she lingered a moment longer, brushing at her daughter’s hair falling out of their plaits. “I love you too sweetie and thank you. For everything.”

But Peggy never heard her, so she pulled back, and allowed herself to be swept up in her husband’s embrace. “We better be getting to bed,” he whispered, the words phrased more as an idea than anything else. “We’ve an early start tomorrow.”

Jemma leaned into him, sighing and closing her eyes. “I suppose we do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm so so so sad that this is done but I could never have done this without you. All your love and support means so so so much to me, and I may one day return to this universe. If you ever want anything specific from this, feel free to comment or ask on tumblr (lilsciencequeen).
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed this one, and thanks so much again. You guys are the best. :)

**Author's Note:**

> And there's chapter one done. I never meant for this idea to become multi chapter but it just kinda happened. There should be about 5 chapters in total.
> 
> A massive thank you to stjarna for helping me with ideas, the title and giving me the idea of Teacher!Fitz!


End file.
